Carabinieri from the Velletri Operational Section, supported by troops from the Rome Provincial Command, are executing pre-trial detention orders against 10 suspects. Issued by the Velletri Court’s Preliminary Investigations Judge (GIP) at the request of the local Prosecutor’s Office, the warrants target nine individuals jailed and one under house arrest. The group includes two women, with nationalities comprising five Italians, two Moroccans, one Nigerian, one Moldovan, and one Romanian. Five suspects were already detained for other crimes, one was under house arrest, and four were at liberty prior to this operation. All face serious allegations of jointly committing multiple offenses within Velletri prison, including drug possession for trafficking, one case of extortion, and unauthorized access to communication devices by inmates.
The investigation, conducted by Velletri Carabinieri with the Penitentiary Police at Velletri Prison from September 2024 to June 2025, began after Penitentiary Police caught an individual red-handed concealing drugs inside his shoes while attempting to smuggle them into the facility. This initial arrest led investigators to uncover numerous additional internal drug dealing incidents and one extortion case against an inmate.
Carabinieri, aided by Penitentiary Police personnel, uncovered sophisticated smuggling methods. Drugs, primarily cocaine and hashish, were typically hidden inside packages sent to inmates or smuggled via ingenious techniques like concealment in shoes or everyday objects. Investigators also documented multiple instances where packages were thrown over the prison walls into designated areas for retrieval by inmates inside. Substantial evidence indicates drugs were only distributed within the prison after inmates’ relatives made payments via prepaid card top-ups. Delayed or failed payments frequently sparked internal conflicts. One inmate allegedly suffered extortion by others over an unpaid drug debt, accompanied by threats of severe physical harm if he failed to pay. The drug trafficking monitored during the investigation period represented a business volume exceeding €100,000.